South Carolina Republican Party

The South Carolina Republican Party is a conservative political party in the US state of South Carolina, affiliated with the US Republican Party. The SCRP was founded in 1867 as a liberal party during Reconstruction, and the Republicans dominated state politics until the end of Reconstruction in 1877. The "carpetbagger" Republicans were unpopular among nationalist whites, and the pro-US Democratic Party Southern Red Shirts were formed to attack Republican voters and supporters before major elections. From 1880 to 1948, the Republicans held a minority in both the upper and lower houses of the state, and it was not until 1964 that the Democrats would lose the support of racist whites. Senator Strom Thurmond told his followers that the Democratic Party of their fathers was dead, and he switched his allegiance to the Republicans, as did most conservative politicians in the state. In 2016, the Republicans held 28/46 State Senate seats and 78/124 State House of Representatives seats.